To the editor:

Oftentimes I feel like I am beating a dead horse when it comes to educating Tiverton residents on the Tiverton Taxpayers Association (TTA) and at the same time I wonder when folks will start paying attention?

With the 2018 election behind us and the TTA garnering enough votes to take control of both the Town Council and the Budget Committee, one must wonder how a very hard right Tea Party group gets elected?

Let's put this into perspective in a black and white way that is easy to let you draw your own conclusions. The 2018 election included a race for governor with a seemingly unpopular Democratic incumbent and a Republican mayor. How does the Democratic incumbent win Tiverton with 54.1% of the vote, or 3,516 votes vs 2,370 for Republican Fung? If the 3,516 votes for a Democrat alone can essentially be counted as votes against a hard right Republican Tea Party group, then some folks in town had better start paying attention to local politics - essentially what affects you the most!

Although I certainly cannot blame the TTA for their win, it is by far not a "mandate.” I'll say it and don't care, Tiverton has a decent amount of uniformed voters or folks that vote because they feel it is their civic duty, yet they readily admit they do not follow local politics. Standing at the VFW on election day, I met some of those folks as they approached me with a TTA door tag in their hand and asked "are these people Democrats?"

I guess it is easier to have a Political Action Committee (TTA PAC) hoard a bunch of "aggregate" donations and mail a deceptive message of "control your taxes" to an uniformed electorate; exactly what the TTA banks on. The reality is that they have an agenda to reduce and fracture local government to their liking and not for the greater good of our town. Their actions to date have proven this with their vote to delay a contract approval for the tax assessor (that TC President Coulter's wife once sued) and to hastily appoint a solicitor that is directly connected to Justin Katz as he is a registered lobbyist for Katz employer.

At a previous meeting they essentially forced the town administrator's hand to extend the probation of the town planner, a position that the voters approved with the 2018 FTR but one that Justin Katz has publicly stated he doesn't want.

If there was ever a time to pay attention it is right now. You can start by watching the TC meetings that have already occurred under the TTA control (on YouTube search "Tiverton Town Council meeting") and by attending upcoming meetings to see for yourself.

David J Paull

Tiverton